Coming Summer Charm
by binnibeans
Summary: HP AU - Their time at Hogwarts is quickly coming to a close, so Alfred takes Arthur somewhere quiet to ask about his summer plans.


**A/N:** For **usxuk**'s Summer Camp event!

Day 12: Literature

_Books, novels, poetry, and prose. Please do not use plays here, as that's for the theater theme. They can be reading a book, discussing a book, featured in a crossover with a book, etc. It's up to you._

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><p>It was risky to be sneaking around the castle late at night, but even riskier to be out on the grounds. Thankfully, though, with a few well-practiced and well-executed spells, the two slipped by unnoticed. After a quick broom ride to the Quidditch pitch, the two settled down for a few quiet moments in one of the tall stands, gazing at all of the stars and constellations above them. A few silver clouds floated by, sometimes blocking the full moon (yes, those were Werewolf howls in the background).<p>

"Y'know, you shouldn't look at the full moon without sunglasses."

"You've told me, Alfred."

"Oh…. Well still! Be careful when ya look at it." Alfred kicked his legs back and forth, looking out at the Forbidden Forest. "Hard to believe we're graduating, huh?"

Arthur nodded, letting himself lean into his boyfriend, his head lolling onto his shoulder. "I wouldn't at all mind being a Fifth Year again, if it meant 2 more years." He sighed. "Hopefully I won't be stuck in that house much longer." He crinkled his nose, taking Alfred's hand in his own closing his eyes just briefly.

Alfred chuckled, kissing the top of Arthur's head. "You won't be! I'll probably have this really awesome Quidditch contract drawn up the second we step out of the castle, and then we'll buy a house, and you can sit at home all day reading, and gardening, and sewing, and coo—listening to the radiooo…."

Arthur pinched Alfred's leg. "What was that?"

"Cooking! You can cook me dinner for when I come home."

Smiling, and with his head still on Alfred's shoulder, he brought their hands up just a bit, looking at them. He flattened their palms together, touching all over Alfred's fingers and enjoying the contrast between the smooth back and calloused palms. Yet he frowned at some of the scars. Being a Beater was bloody business. "And if I don't enjoy being a common housewitch for you, hm?"

"Well, then you won't be! You could easily find a job at the Ministry, right? You're really smart, Artie!"

"(That's not my name!) After what's happened in the last decade, you think they'll be keen to take on a Slytherin?"

Alfred shrugged, and rubbed his thumb over Arthur's. "_I_did, didn't I? And I'm pretty picky. And just cuz you're in Slytherin doesn't make you evil!"

"I seem to recall a little First Year going on, before he was even sorted, how horrible and evil one must be to get into Slytherin."

"Aw, come on. I was stupid back then, and I'm Muggleborn—I had assumptions! But really. You're Head Boy, right? And you're the only one of your brothers to have been in Slytherin, and the rest were scattered, too! So it means that even though you're in Slytherin, you could have just as easily been in any of the other three."

"Except Hufflepuff. Bunch of duffers…." A moment later, he grinned at a sudden, random memory. "Do you remember that time you snuck me into the Gryffindor Common Room?"

Alfred laughed almost immediately. "Last year, when we started dating?"

Arthur nodded. "You accidentally ended up giving the Fat Lady a mullet after trying a silencing charm on her. Alfred, how on Earth did you manage that?"

"Magic? I don't know! She wouldn't let me in without a professor to convince her for a week, though. She's still mad at me."

"I would be, too. What about when, in Third Year, you gave William a Paris Hilton makeover when your wand went off?"

"That was amazing!"

"And I paid for it."

"Okay, so that wasn't so amazing, but your brother with blond hair, pink robes, and a chihuahua? Epic."

Arthur chuckled. "Keep your wand out of your back pocket, you twit. You never know what might happen."

"Like what, make your eyebrows bigger than they already are?"

This time, Arthur remained quiet, but stood swiftly and reached for Alfred's broom, an Electron Shift 4 (an American model), holding it tight.

"H-hey! Where are you goin'?"

"You are an ass!" Arthur called. "I'm going back to the castle! Good luck getting back!" he said, mounting the broom. Alfred, though he appeared confused, didn't seem too worried as Arthur began to fly off.

Arthur didn't make it very far. Hovering just outside of the box, the broom had stopped moving. He sat upon the broom for a moment, silent, trying to urge it to go. He knew he wasn't the best at flying brooms, but he wasn't all that bad where he couldn't fly at all.

"…Alfred."

"Yeah?"

"Your broom is malfunctioning," he deadpanned.

"No it's not."

"I'm afraid it is."

"It's not."

"And how would you know? You tosser."

Arthur found the broom turning enough so that he was facing Alfred. Arthur scowled at his boyfriend; something said boyfriend found, apparently, amusing. He was ready to just hop off and walk back, at this rate.

"I have a security charm on there. Unless I remove it, I have to be on the broom with you, or it's goin' nowhere!"

"You are such a stupid prat!"

"Geesh! Just cuz I have a security charm on my broom, I'm stupid?"

"Y-yes!" Arthur's lips drew into a line, and he entered a staring contest with Alfred.

"All I did was state fact. You have big eyebrows."

"And you have an inflated head!"

"Hey! I got the grades for it! I'm in the Top 5 of all the Seventh Years!"

The broom puttered back, causing Arthur to lose his staring contest as he demounted. Stupid broom…. He sat a little further from Alfred this time, though, and grumbled to the side, his cheek leaning into his fist. "May we return, now?" he asked.

"Nope!" Alfred returned all too gladly. It was as if the last three minutes hadn't even happened to him. Arthur was glad one of them, at least, could so easily drop things. In fact, he was almost envious of Alfred's unadulterated skill. "Besides, there was a reason I asked you to sneak out with me."

"Do get to it; it wouldn't do for the Head Boy to be caught gallivanting about the school grounds at night."

"Okay, okay, geesh. Anyway, I uh…."

Arthur shifted his position, pulling out his wand so that he could play with the sparkles that exited its tip. He listened, though. Despite his discontent with Alfred at that moment, he found himself always ready to listen. It was almost pathetic, he thought, that he should let himself play to the other's whims like that, but…. He supposed sometimes Alfred did give in to Arthur, as well.

"Kinda wondered if maybe, after we get off at King's Cross … if you wanted to just go straight to America with me…."

The sparkles disappeared, and Arthur froze.

"Just for a small while! I don't mind at all comin' back here, if that's what you want, but my family does wanna meet you. They're all Muggles, though I think Mattie might have some witch in his family on his mom's side, but they do wanna meet you!"

Arthur's wand started shaking.

"You … you won't have to go back to your brothers' house again, I mean, you have pretty much all of your stuff here, right? A-and after we visit my family, we can come back here and get an apartment…."

Arthur gripped his wand a little tighter, feeling the rest of his body start to shake. He ducked his head, biting his lip and telling himself that no, this … this wasn't something to cry over.

"Arthur…?"

Yet, despite this train of thought, and foregoing all upset with the boy, Arthur flung himself on Alfred and wrapped his arms around his neck, trying hard to stop his tears by shutting his eyes tightly. Stupid Alfred, getting him all worked up like this. Stupid Alfred, holding him back like he was _allowed to_, or something….

"S-stupid idiot, of … of course I will…. Like you even need to ask."

"Aww, Artie, you cryin'?"

"I'll let the nickname and missing consonant go, but you're missing an auxiliary verb, and no, I'm not crying!" He sniffed.

"Fine; _are _you crying?"

"No, I said!" Maybe he should consider holding his breath…. No, that usually ended up with a giant sob being released, didn't it?

Alfred still held on to Arthur, holding him close. "If you're not crying, lemme see your face."

"No."

"Well how can I believe you, then?"

"You just do! I'm your boyfriend, and you should just believe me!"

"And you shouldn't lie!"

"I'm not crying!"

"Pfft, okay, sure."

Arthur sniffed some more, relaxing in Alfred's arms and letting his tears finally start to wane away. He stared blearily at the stands behind Alfred, a small grin starting to form on his face. For no one else was Arthur this grateful to have in his life. His parents loved him, sure, but they were parents. His brothers were … assholes, for lack of a better term, and being at home over the summer was just one trial after the next. It was true that Alfred hadn't made his life at Hogwarts entirely easy at first, but time had passed and even with all the difficulty they'd faced (mostly against each other), they had ended up together, and happy. After some months it became so solid, no one could really imagine it being otherwise;

Arthur's eyes closed, almost content enough to sleep on Alfred's shoulder until he felt tickling on his neck. He froze, tensing only slightly, and let his eyes shoot open. "A-Alfred, what are you doing?"

"Nuttin'," he said, nuzzling some more at Arthur's neck.

It wasn't unpleasant in the least, but Arthur hardly found it the time or place—and for Arthur to have those feelings was a true sign that It Was Not The Time. "Alfred, no."

"I'm not even kissing you! I'm just … nuzzling!"

"Which you'll soon turn into kissing."

"…Wasnot…."

Arthur chuckled, readjusting himself on Alfred's shoulder for a moment. He struggled trying to think of how to respond to Alfred's proposal for the summer, and … and after that. He wanted it so badly, but there were still so many obstacles. Alfred said he didn't mind living in the UK, but he knew how important it was for him to get to go home to the States, just as it would be important for Arthur to go home to England. That Alfred was willing to do such a thing touched Arthur, and he knew he'd be willing to do the same, even if he (and Alfred) would have difficulties with the parting. Then again, there were dual citizenships they could each acquire, he supposed, and they could spend time freely between the two countries. …Maybe that was thinking too far ahead. He didn't want to jinx his chances.

"Thank you, Alfred…" he whispered, hugging him a little tighter. He could probably easily fall asleep in the stands, so long as Alfred was his pillow.

The other gave a final squeeze before pulling back, then grinned. "Told ya you were cryin'. I can see where they fell!"

"G-git! It's dark out! You're making it up!" Arthur blushed, effectively glowing in the dark as Alfred just pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. But what're you thanking me for?"

"For the invitation, this summer…."

"Oh, it's nothin'! But … you never said you'd go."

"I'll go! I … I would like to go."

Alfred grinned, and Arthur felt himself warm up inside. "Kay! Cool. My family will be psyched!"

Alfred went on about his family, leaving Arthur only to grin until he started yawning. Alfred picked up the hint, and flew them back down to the castle. Arthur made sure to hold on tight, just so he wouldn't fall asleep, and upon landing, Alfred walked him to the Slytherin Common Room's entrance.

"I'll see ya tomorrow morning, kay?"

Arthur nodded, giving Alfred a quick kiss. "Mhmm. Good night, Alfred."

Alfred offered one of his silly grins. "Night, Artie!"

Three more words hung on Arthur's tongue, but Alfred shook his head, his eyes saying, "Not now," but with a smile on his face. Arthur nodded; for now, it was simply just known between them.

Arthur watched as Alfred walked off, back in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping he wouldn't get caught. Once he was out of sight, Arthur yawned after punching the air, and made his way inside for bed. He had a feeling that this was going to be the best part of his time at Hogwarts yet.

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><p>END<p>

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><p>I have like. A ton of other scenes for these two in the universe. 8|b<p> 


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